More like three and a half stars, really. This is a tricky book. Riley Jenson is on the case again. Blackmailed by her former pack alpha into tracking down a missing pack member, and hunting a vengeful spirit who rips his victims to shreds, she's got a lot on her plate. Throw in the usual love-life complications and this is another neat entry in the Riley Jenson series. Riley shows genuine character growth in each book, and it's a cautious, slightly sad Riley we find here. It's nice to read a series where the characters really do evolve and Arthur does this well.
However, there are issues. The first is perhaps an odd complaint - the two mystery plot strands never dovetailed, as you might expect in a book of this nature. The missing girl plot and the vengeful spirit plot are unrelated, and one is wrapped up so quickly and neatly, you almost don't see the point in it. A shame, because it seemed so promising. The other issue is one I can't go into without spoilers, but suffice to say there's a massive deus ex machina moment that seems cheap and disappointing, given the inventiveness I've come to love in this series.
The good points - Riley's hormones are dancing and jigging less, and Quinn is thankfully absent, although I doubt that will last. I'm waiting patiently for Riley #6 and hoping it gets the series back on track. End verdict - fun but flawed.